Yoon Suk-yeol and Xi Jinping Phone Call on 25th, Background of 'Reestablishing Korea-China Relations'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] It has been reported that President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will have a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the afternoon of the 25th, drawing attention to the background of this call.

In the context of escalating US-China tensions, President Xi is interpreted to be aiming to solidify Korea-China relations by establishing a relationship with the next leader, President-elect Yoon.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the President-elect, stated during a briefing at the transition office in Samcheong-dong on the morning of the 24th that the call with President Xi is expected to take place "within this week." The likely timing of the call is reported to be the afternoon of the 25th.

If the phone call with President Xi occurs on the 25th, President-elect Yoon will have spoken with the leaders of the United States, Japan, and China within about fifteen days since his election on the 10th of this month.

He first spoke with US President Joe Biden on the day of his election. Subsequently, he had phone calls with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (11th), British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (14th), Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (16th), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (17th), and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (23rd).

Since President Xi took office in March 2013, this will be the first time he has spoken with a South Korean president-elect.

Spokesperson Kim said, "It has been customary to schedule calls after the counterpart country's leader has officially taken office as president or prime minister, but this custom seems likely to be broken this time."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In South Korea's case, when President Moon Jae-in was confirmed as president-elect five years ago, China sent a congratulatory telegram and had a phone call the next day; however, Moon was already president, not president-elect. Because President Moon took office immediately without a regime change due to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, an early call was unusually made.

It is also reported that this phone call was requested first by the Chinese side.

In diplomatic circles, there is an analysis that since President-elect Yoon has emphasized strengthening the Korea-US alliance, President Xi felt the need to reestablish Korea-China relations before the new government’s inauguration.

North Korea has launched missiles about ten times this year, raised tensions by threatening to break the moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches, making cooperation between Korea and China necessary.

Moreover, through state-run media reports, China has expressed wariness regarding President-elect Yoon’s pledges for additional deployment of THAAD and gradual participation in the Quad.

However, even if the phone call takes place on the 25th, diplomatic circles note that, according to diplomatic protocol, the face-to-face Korea-China summit, which is expected to be held when the Chinese leader visits Korea, is difficult to predict in timing since President Xi has not traveled abroad for over two years during the COVID-19 situation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.